By Christian Koelle, Staff Writer
Officials from the ARCA Menards Series announced the 2022 schedule on Thursday.
The schedule looks “mighty familiar” to the 2021 schedule with a few tweaks including a move of the championship finale from Kansas Speedway to Toledo Speedway. Other highlights include a return to Iowa Speedway, Milwaukee Mile, and Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.
As reported a few weeks ago, The Daytona International Speedway will once again kick off the season on February 19th. The ARCA Menards season opener will once again team with the season opener for the NASCAR Xfinity Series as it did in 2021.
Through the first three months of the season, one race a month alongside the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Phoenix Raceway on March 11th and Talladega Superspeedway on April 23rd. ARCA will continue to run in conjunction with the NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas Speedway on May 14th and Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28th.
Iowa Speedway will kick off the stand-alone section of 2021 on June 11th, moving from its late-July date. Berlin Raceway and Elko Speedway will follow Iowa Speedway as the series goes three straight weekends of short-track racing from June 18th through June 25th.
After the triple-header of short tracks, ARCA rejoins the NASCAR National Series’ for five straight weekends. It’ll start on July 8th with the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Mid-Ohio. It will join the NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono Raceway on July 22nd and at Michigan International Speedway on August 6th.
After a one-year hiatus, the ARCA Menards Series returns to Lucas Oil Raceway on July 29th as part of a super NASCAR weekend in the Indianapolis area. ARCA will join the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Lucas Oil as the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series takes to the road course inside the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This race will be between Pocono and Michigan as part of the five straight race weekends.
The dirt track swing of the season once again returns with Illinois State Fairgrounds on August 21st and DuQuoin State Fairgrounds on September 4th. The famed Milwaukee Mile will slide between the two dirt races on August 28th and will set the tone for the final four races of 2022.
Kansas Speedway will again host a second race but for the first time since 2011, it will not host the championship race for the ARCA Menards Series. It will be the third straight season though that Kansas will host two races on the ARCA schedule and will be the only track that’ll host ARCA twice in the season.
The final companion event with the NASCAR Cup Series will come at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 15th. Bristol will kick off a three-race half-mile shootout for the 2022 ARCA Menards Series championship.
Salem Speedway, the longest-running track on the ARCA Menards Series circuit, will host its 108th race in 2022 on October 1st. It will be the penultimate race of the season for the second straight season.
The biggest move of the 2022 schedule has ARCA returning to its home, Toledo Speedway to crown the champion. For the first time since 2011, Toledo will host the season finale for the ARCA Menards Series. Toledo was race number five on the schedule in 2021.
MAVTV or FOX Sports will broadcast all 20 ARCA Menards Series events with broadcast information announced at a later date. ARCA will also announce the races that’ll build the Sioux Chief Showdown that ended at Salem in 2021.
ARCA announced that the schedules for the ARCA Menards Series East and West will be announced in the coming weeks.
2022 ARCA Menards Series schedule
| Date | Track | Location |
| Saturday, Feb. 19 | Daytona International Speedway | Daytona Beach, Florida |
| Friday, March 11 | Phoenix Raceway | Avondale, Arizona |
| Saturday, April 23 | Talladega Superspeedway | Talladega, Alabama |
| Saturday, May 14 | Kansas Speedway | Kansas City, Kansas |
| Saturday, May 28 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Concord, North Carolina |
| Saturday, June 11 | Iowa Speedway | Newton, Iowa |
| Saturday, June 18 | Berlin Raceway | Marne, Michigan |
| Saturday, June 25 | Elko Speedway | Elko New Market, Minnesota |
| Friday, July 8 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio |
| Friday, July 22 | Pocono Raceway | Long Pond, Pennsylvania |
| Friday, July 29 | Lucas Oil Raceway | Brownsburg, Indiana |
| Saturday, Aug. 6 | Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan |
| Friday, Aug. 19 | Watkins Glen International | Watkins Glen, New York |
| Sunday, Aug. 21 | Illinois State Fairgrounds | Springfield, Illinois |
| Sunday, Aug. 28 | The Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin |
| Sunday, Sept. 4 | DuQuoin State Fairgrounds | DuQuoin, Illinois |
| Saturday, Sept. 10 | Kansas Speedway | Kansas City, Kansas |
| Thursday, Sept. 15 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Bristol, Tennessee |
| Saturday, Oct. 1 | Salem Speedway | Salem, Indiana |
| Saturday, Oct. 8 | Toledo Speedway | Toledo, Ohio |
Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography